Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What's in a name? If authoring a blog, a lot, really. When I decided to publish a public blog, the first and most important detail to me was the name. To me, a name says so much about who you are and what you're all about.

I held a contest on Facebook (where else?) between all of my friends asking for their input.

Kate offered "confessions of not quite a cat lady" which I giggled at, for a while, until I realized that everyone thinks of me as the cat lady.

Next!

Kate countered with "how about confessions of a hippie chick?" which was pretty clever, yet didn't have THE NAME written all over it.

Guapo says "Behind the Chedder Curtain or Through the Looking Glass or something... give me a six pack and I will get back to you. ;)" in his ever handsome way.

But no thanks. (LOVE YOU GUAPO)

Other entries of note were "Holler at a Homie", "there's nothing like a box of pooping chickens to ruin a party" (both from Laura) and "That's What She Said".

Do I look like a Homie?

Another giggler? "kcabyxes. its sexyback spelled backwards." But then I'd spend more time explaining my blog title than I would actually blogging. But if all else failed, that one was it.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Yesterday I was driving around with a pair of slippers, an 18 pound turkey and a 40 gallon garbage bag of tin cans in my back seat. All while going from acupuncture to the dentists. And while wearing a skirt, nonetheless.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Remember that guy from yesterday? The cute, fat one? Well, that cute fat one hyperventilated and basically "EXPLODED" all over his cat carrier and the vet's office tonight.

Don't let that cuteness fool you. Oh no. That guy is SNEA-KY.

He waits until you are PULLING IN THE DAMN PARKING LOT before letting loose from both ends.

He's kind enough to give you a few warning signs though. Like FOAMING AT THE MOUTH and BELLOWING LIKE HE'S ON FIRE. I should have taped it... but wait... I was sticking my head out the window so that I could stop dry heaving.

Like I said, he looks cute and all, but just you wait.

It's all fun and games until the cat starts sharting.

Aint it boy?

And the kicker? $130.00 later, we're walking out to the snow-covered car that's DEAD and had to be jumped by a vet tech. AND we have to go back in 3 weeks because Mau was too distraught to get his vaccinations. The great part? We now have kitty tranquilizers for the next car ride and Mau is nice and clean from the bath he got when we finally made it home.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sometimes I forget that Christmas is not right around the corner. We still have Thanksgiving dinner to eat, the first snowfall to come, out first trip out on the slopes and our snowblower has yet to arrive. But this weekend, you would have thought that Christmas is next week in our house.

You're going to hate me, I promise, when you hear this next bit of news.

I have 90% of my Christmas shopping done!(I warned you, you know)

Still there? Well, you're REALLY not going to like me now. I also have my hand-stamped Christmas cards done AND we put the tree up just a few hours ago.

See?

But that's where my production ends and the mess in our house begins. It's not that I don't have miles and miles of laundry to go before I sleep, because I do. But the Jingle Bug has bitten and I just had to decorate! Greg and I pulled everything out from the storage room in the basement and while he got to fluffing the tree, I finished up my cards.

Here's a picture of the mess we left behind.

And another.

And another.

The cats? Well Stella and Mau decided that they wanted to 'help' by chewing on the branches and then plopping themselves under the tree, as if in approval.

And Mau? Well, he's forgiven because he's so damn cute.

And fat.

Needless to say, we haven't done much tree fluffing today. And we're not putting oraments up until later this week or next weekend.

I also found this awesome piece of art while I was Chirstmas shopping! It calls for drywall studs or something manly like that, so Greg's got to hang it up, hence why it's next to the couch and not above it.

And Max? Well, he's stopping by to spread the love and give kisses.

Okay, so I took that picture about 3 weeks ago. You caught me. But telling you that Max slept through the entire thing was so, well, insulting. If I can't entertain the cat, who can I entertain? You? Please? PLEASE?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Something shitty happened today. And yet, rather than mope about it, we all went out to celebrate. You see, my friend Kate has been waiting MONTHS to finally find out that her department has been officially, 100% outsourced. And when I say months, I mean since January. While, slowly, everyone around her was let go, the final group of them were kept on. I can't imagine going through it and she's been amazing at keeping a positive attitude about it. The final word came this morning. (It's about time, right!?)

So Kate, Katie and I went out for sushi at a local hot spot.

They have the best sushi for miles. And not just because they are the only place for miles, but because they're just fabulous. When given a choice between going to Milwaukee for sushi or eating there, I choo, choo, choose them every time.

Enough about that - let's get to the pictures.

See that scarf? I bought her that in Scotland. ;)

Oh, did I mention I ate OCTOPUS?

Oh, I didn't? Well let me show you the proof!Yeah, not a big fan. Can you tell?

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

There's something magical about the first big snowstorm of the year. Not only does it mean digging through the summer and spring pile-up to find your shovel, ice scraper, mittens and sanity; it's the first time we get to load up the boards and hit the slopes.

One of the hardest parts of boarding is getting all the right gear. Once you get the gear, you're set for quite a while. Or, if you're like me, until you get a new board and want everything else to match said board.

Here's my gear - Coat and Pants first. Greg bought me this awesome Northface jacket for Christmas last year. And I bought these Burton pants on sale before our trip last year.

UPDATE: I bought a the following pair of cream board pants today. Not matching drives me crazy! :)

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

With the recent snow, it's plain to see that Fall is coming to an end.

Most sane people hear, see, feel or think snow and shudder.I should know; I too was once sane.I would be inside the house and as soft, fluffy flakes would start to fall, I would let out a groan so loud the birds would scatter from the trees and the cat would run from the room.Picture it. No lie.

About 4 years ago now, I met this man, a boy at the time, really.This man holds a deep love affair with the same snow that dampened the back of my jeans, caused my fingers to go numb and my car to spin out of control and into a ditch.Those same soft, fluffy flakes would fall and his eyes would light up, like a child given an unlimited gift card to Toys-R-Us.

The merger of our love/hate relationship was not smooth.In the middle of the first winter I had pins put in both of my feet six weeks apart from each other and spent the entire winter in a walking cast on one foot or the other.

Some winter/snow math for you this morning:

Snow + 40 degree days = ice.Ice + Boot = ass plant.

Funny now.Not so funny then.(Okay, maybe a little funny then)

I am not sure how it happened, but one day I woke up to a yard covered in that beautiful fluffy white stuff.Did I say beautiful?Well, I guess I did.Yeah; beautiful!I was transformed.Somehow, over the years, I had grown immune to the chill, the wet, the shoveling.When snows now, I am the kid in the candy store.

There are some things that snow and I will never see eye to eye on.

1: Why must you take away my ability to walk in heels and wear skirts while you are visiting?I enjoy wearing skirts.I wear heels on a daily basis.Why do you make this harder than it needs to be?
2: Do you really have to arrive early when I have not yet thrown my ice scraper in to my trunk?
3: Why don’t you come on command? Why cannot you not snow the days I want you to and not snow the days I need you take a day off?

My love of snow has since evolved into a love of snowboarding.Stay tuned for more to come...

Here are some pictures to tide you over -

Our house decorated for Halloween - the day of, I put out a wind sock and my wicked witch.

My Goddaughter Samantha - She was a scary bat for Halloween (That's my scared face) (Notice the winter hat; it was COLD that day!)

Greg and I had a cement block replaced on the sidewalk and carved our initials into it before it dried. :)

THIS is the squirrel that has been eating my mini pumpkins. Caught him in the act!

Notice his damage. I have since given up and have placed all the mini pumpkins under the bird feeder so that everyone can feast off the smorgasbord.

About Me

I thought I had a normal pregnancy, until Noah was diagnosed as Severe Intrauterine Growth Restricted. A month later, I was on hospital bed rest away from my family. One month after that, Noah entered the world in a blaze of glory at 30 weeks and 3 days, 1 pound, 10 ounces. Being a NICU parent changes you in a way that profoundly changes your life and how you view the world. Our journey has been filled with many steps forward and a few big ones back, but it's also filled with hope, love and blessings. Through it all, there's HOPE. Noah has shown that although he is tiny, he is also mighty. It would be our pleasure if you would join us on our journey.